


talk me down

by unusannus



Category: The Last of Us
Genre: Angst, Gen, I have no idea how to tag this I'm sorry, Makeup, Minor Injuries, if losing your fingers and almost being drowned is minor, just a bit of a better ending that's almost happy, no beta we die like almost every character in this friggin videogame
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-08
Updated: 2020-08-08
Packaged: 2021-03-06 00:40:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 923
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25774516
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/unusannus/pseuds/unusannus
Summary: If Ellie and Abby had a semi-normal conversation after their fight at the beach.
Relationships: Abby & Ellie (The Last of Us)
Comments: 12
Kudos: 60





	talk me down

**Author's Note:**

> this idea wouldn't leave my head, so i had to get it out!! 
> 
> idk man i was in my Feelings™ for this one

Ellie sits in the water, drenched and bloodied. Her fingers feel numb, probably from the sheer amount of pain that comes with them almost getting bitten off. The salt in her mouth from the sea matches the salt in her tears. Her chest is heavy with unspoken words.

“Just take him.” She all but demands Abby, the other woman hesitates. Ellie cannot bear to look at her in the eyes.

Abby doesn’t walk away as expected, her broken voice breaks through the sound of waves, “I’m sorry.” Ellie balls her hands into fists because she knows she cannot say the same thing back.

“Look, I-- I know that doesn’t mean  _ shit _ now. I know.” Abby steps closer.

Ellie sniffs, squeezing her eyes shut to stop from bawling, “Please stop.” She begs. She doesn’t want to do this. She doesn’t want to have the conversation that should’ve happened at the Pinnacle theatre now. She doesn’t want closure that she does not deserve.

“I have no idea who he was to you, but he was important, right?” 

Ellie brings a hand to her mouth, stifling a sob. 

Important?

She thinks of her 15th birthday present, of him teaching her guitar, of him encouraging her to be with Dina if it was what made her happy. 

_ Important. _

Understatement of the fucking century, Abby.

She can hear Abby crying, too. There’s a small splash and Ellie opens her eyes to see her sitting next to her, looking equally destroyed, if not more. The silence soaks in them as they wait it out, testing who will talk first. Ellie relents, asking, “Why?” It’s just one word. A simple question. One that has haunted her ever since the final swing of the club had cracked his head open, allowing blood to pool and pool until he was no longer breathing. Until he was no longer with her.

Abby lets out a shaky breath, “He killed my dad.” 

_ Oh _ .

And now Ellie’s in the position of understanding and of disgust. 

She was repeating Abby’s actions. She wanted to heave the last swing onto her when all she would be able to do is groan and moan in pain. She needed everyone Abby had ever loved to  _ see  _ it happen, to know that hurt. She needed them to jump at every little thing that went bump in the night.

But, now, she can see where that has gotten Abby. Even with revenge taken, she ended up half-dead on a beach with nothing but that boy. That hole in her heart had never been filled, and it never will be. 

“You killed mine.” Ellie informs Abby, all her rage from earlier had died out. She was so  _ tired  _ of this. 

“Fuck.” Abby mutters, a hand running through her short, ratty hair.

All Ellie can muster is a “Yeah.” because what else can she say? That was the truth. 

Ellie speaks again when Abby doesn’t, “What a fucking mess.” She scoffs, wondering if she should laugh to pretend like this wasn’t as shitty of a situation as it was. It was something Joel always reprimanded her about, her ability to rarely take things seriously.

Silence stretches out once more. The gunfire and screams from the prisoners fighting the Rattlers can be heard from where they sit. It’s weirdly settling to know they are not the only people to exist right now.

“His name’s Lev.”

Ellie eyes Abby with confusion. Who was that?

Abby nods towards the direction of the boat, where the kid is, “The boy. He’s Lev.”

_ Sorry for putting a knife to his throat,  _ Ellie wants to say, but, as Abby had told her, she knows that doesn’t mean shit right now. So, instead she says, “Cool name.” And, yeah, she knows that’s about the dumbest thing she can say right now.

Chuckling dryly, Abby nods, “Yeah, it is.” Her tone turns concerned, “I have no idea how I’m gonna take care of him.” She gestures to herself, to her malnourished body.

“There’s always Jackson.” Ellie tells her. She’s not sure where that offer came from.  _ She  _ wasn’t even living there right now. Everyone knew how Joel died, if Abby came back and the word got out, she’d be exiled or dead in seconds.

Abby seems to get to that as soon as Ellie does, “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“Well, not if you’re on your own.” 

Abby furrows her brows, “What are you saying?”

Ellie sighs, swirling one of her remaining fingers in the misty water, “If the people I left behind take me back, then, I could escort you to Jackson.” She looks up to Abby, “And vouch for you.”

“Vouch?”

“You know, say that you’re okay and won’t cause any trouble.” Ellie explains. If the Ellie from Seattle heard her saying this she might’ve gotten her face punched real nice.

Abby’s lips press together into a hard line, like she’s thinking, before bluntly stating “That’s a stupid idea.”

“I know.”

Abby says nothing, the ghost of a smile on her lips. She stands, extending a hand out to Ellie.

Ellie stares at it in a daze for a few seconds, wondering what the implications of her accepting this would mean for her. All of it ends with more questions than answers.

Eventually, she takes the hand gratefully.

When she’s in her boat, speeding all the way back to Jackson (or at least as far as the ocean will let her), she can’t help but feel satisfied at the sound of another boat whirring closely behind her.

**Author's Note:**

> give me an ellie and abby brotp (after they both take extensive therapy sessions) or give me death


End file.
